Accessories

What things can you add to your bike to make your cycling a little safer, easier or more comfortable?

Previous discussions have centred on bike mirrors. Here, John is demonstrating his helmet mounted mirror. John and Robert Dunn swear by them, but admit their preference is probably based on what they are used to.

Nan’s bike has a Mirrcyle mirror as a trial. She likes it and can see the point. The mirrycle is much sturdier than cheaper models, and is adjustable.

Nan’s bike also sports a second accessory in the photo, a pair of rosary beads. These were pressed onto Nan by a religious work colleague, who Nan didn’t have the heart to say no to. As Nan puts it, “rosary beads hanging from your car mirror stops car thieves, so it might work for bikes too.”

In fact, Nan’s colleague is from Pakistan, with a foot in both camps, so to speak. Not knowing the ins and outs of where to get rosary beads in a modern secular world, she opted for worry beads. So Nan has all bases covered.

Another overlooked accessory is the mudguard. Ivar and Rob Purse both have them. I guess we have all ridden on wet days and ended up with a ‘pepe-le-phew’ mud stripe on our backs because we lacked a mudguard. Ivor’s bike has a second water bottle carrier as well, very handy for long hot days when it’s a long distance to the next drink stop.

Rob Purse’s bike sports a centre stand. It really is handy, you don’t need to look for a post or a tree.

This is an accessory I picked up on Mike’s “Lakes, Coast and Beaches tour”. I feared the worst as I cycled to Broadmeadows station.

Amazingly, the tyre held its pressure, the screw didn’t penetrate to the inner tube. Schwable GreenGuard are pretty amazing. There are lots of situations where they don’t work, but when they do, as in the case above, golden.

However, as if to prove my point, my other wheel suffered a failure on the tube’s valve stem.